by Willa Okati
A man with an idea, that was who.
“Let me,” Ford begged. He sat up, careful of Gavin’s slighter body and mass, and laid Gavin on his side. Cock at mouth level, mind. And while again this did take some spine-crunching maneuvering, it was worth twisting himself about to have Gavin’s cock resting at his lips.
“Oh,” Gavin said, shock evident enough to make Ford laugh.
Ford stopped laughing, because surprised or not, Gavin apparently knew a darn good idea when he saw one. Gavin’s lips closed around Ford’s cockhead, suckled, and slid down.
He’d done sixty-nines before. This was more like a sixty-five. Either way, Ford fell fast, hard, and deep into the fight to keep up a rhythm. Not easy. Gavin’s blowjob skills put world champions’ skills to shame, and he knew it, the sly minx. Ford wasn’t as skilled, but you bet he had enthusiasm on his side and never let anyone tell him that didn’t count for just about as much. Same as bottoming -- just lack of getting a chance to play.
He made this one count for all it was worth and shook it for the change left over. Gavin’s cock was perfectly shaped for Ford’s mouth, nicely thick, nicely long, and hey, would you look at that? Talking all the time must have helped wash away a gag reflex. Mostly. A little cough was worth it for the noise Gavin made, nearly a scream, when he hit the back of Ford’s throat and kept going.
Faster. Faster still. Ford could easily have -- almost did -- lose track. He never found a rhythm. Too easy to slip off with a groan or a gasp when Gavin hit a sweet spot; too easy to give in to the craving more, more, more, more when he discovered a trick that made Gavin cry out and beg.
He could tell when Gavin came close; he’d learned those tells, and for once Ford wanted it to end fast and messy instead of long and slow. He needed this. He pulled his hips out of Gavin’s reach and latched on, kneading Gavin’s hips and hollowing his cheeks with suction.
He underestimated Gavin’s flexibility. Just the tip of Gavin’s tongue lashed Ford’s cockhead, but as it happened exactly when Ford cupped Gavin’s balls and stroked, Ford figured he still came out the winner. He caught every drop he could, and a big mouth turned out to be good for something else.
And after that, he was more than happy to flop on his back and try to figure out how to breathe again. Not really happening, what with Gavin climbing on board and showing Ford what proper cock sucking was really all about, his own skill given way to almost feral attack, every trick in the book, every twist on them that was only Gavin, and --
Ford yanked on Gavin’s hair to warn him. Gavin shook him off and thrust his hand behind Ford’s balls. Farther back.
Oh God. Ford froze. He’s not --
But he was. The tip of a finger, wet with Gavin’s saliva, reached the rim of Ford’s hole, touched tentatively in a curious half circle, then pressed…
“Fucking fuck!” Ford bucked up almost in a sitting position, crashed back down, and Gavin hung on all the way, drinking down his payload. Ford couldn’t stop tossing to and fro, even though the motion plastered his hair to his face and blinded him. Nor could he stop swearing and begging. He surged again, almost like coming a second time, and got a look at the thick spurt dribbling from Gavin’s lips.
That was awesome. But even better was the look of pride and amazed “was that me?” Ford saw written all over Gavin’s red, sweat-damp face when he looked up, licked cum off his lips, and blazed a grin as bright as Ford’s. At him. For him.
All for him now.
* * *
Gavin rested with his head on Ford’s chest, rising and falling with each breath, exactly where Ford wanted him. He could stroke Gavin’s hair, a particular favorite, and he could watch the sleepy near innocence Gavin’s sweet face took on when he’d gone this far and given up so much. Could enjoy every last drop of contentment when Gavin sighed and pressed one last weary kiss on him.
It was a perfect moment.
Ford had started to become a tiny bit wary of those. That troubled him more than he liked, which bugged him, and so on it went.
“You didn’t honestly think I came here to break up with you, did you?” Gavin stroked patterns over Ford’s ribs.
Busted. Ford wished he could pace to get out some of this nervous energy. “I hoped you wouldn’t.”
Gavin remained silent. For a minute. “You make me wish I could believe, you know.” He began to fiddle with the loose ends of Ford’s hair. “Wishing isn’t the same as doing. Like, right now… I know you want to ask me to marry you. Right?”
Actually… wrong. But Ford bit his tongue hard, afraid to hope. How messed up was that?
Gavin took a deep breath. “I know you’re not asking because you know I’d say no.” He hooked his leg over Ford’s to keep them close while he clearly struggled with his words. “That doesn’t mean…” Another breath, one that sounded close to the destructive edge of frustration.
Ford couldn’t fret about himself when Gavin was having a hard time. He patted Gavin’s shoulder to show him it didn’t matter if he couldn’t make the words come out. He got the gist.
Only, he was wrong. “I can’t say I’ll marry you. I can’t.”
Ford accepted the dull thud of the blow for what it was.
He did not expect the follow-up punch.
“I’ve got some unexpected free time on my hands. If you can get away -- maybe for a weekend -- if I can’t give you a wedding, I could give you a honeymoon.”
Ford could only lie still and stare at Gavin.
Gavin ducked his head. “Dumb,” he muttered to himself. “Forget I asked.”
“Like hell I will.” Ford hauled Gavin fully on top of him, as he had in the beginning, and hung on equally tight. “Give me five minutes to pack a bag, and we can hit the road.”
Gavin scanned him intently; Ford could see the hint of nerves and admired his man all the more for the courage this invitation took. A slow smile replaced that apprehension, and this time Ford liked the change much, much better. “I was thinking more like next weekend.”
“I love you,” Ford said. He couldn’t hold that back. “I do. No matter what. You don’t even know.”
“Don’t say that.” Gavin looked at Ford with utter clarity and such purpose that Ford couldn’t doubt he meant what he said, even if he’d wanted to, and he didn’t. “I can’t say it back… yet… but I think now I like hearing it.”
Ford’s heart squeezed.
Gavin settled atop Ford, where Ford liked him best. “I just… I want you to know. Unless you leave me, I’m not leaving you. I promise. And you can believe me.”
Ford wondered if he looked this bright and dazzling, as if you could wish on him, when he was as sure of himself.
“Know how?”
“How?”
“Because it’s true.”
There was no better response to that than a kiss. Except to roll over and put Gavin beneath him where he could be kissed all over, and Ford was more than eager for that.
Such a good start. Such an unexpected, wonderful good omen of a turn. Ask and ye shall receive.
You’ll see, Ford swore between presses of his mouth on soft skin over firm core. I’ll show you, and you’ll see, and maybe then, maybe…
* * *
Gavin didn’t check his watch. He had no need to. Ford had said he’d be there in the early afternoon to pick him up, and Ford wouldn’t let him down. Granted, he’d originally said ten a.m., then noon, then with increasing sheepishness phoned again at five till and extended the time again. And through all of that, Gavin remained calm.
He trusted Ford. So strange. When had that happened? Not after they’d first slept together. Sometime after, somewhere along the way…
Gavin had not thought it could ever happen again, but somehow he’d gone and fallen in love with Ford. And wasn’t that the strangest thing of all?
He slid his cuffed sleeves farther up his arms and propped his chin on his knee, content to wait. In years gone by, whenever Donny had called to say he’d be running late, m
ore often than not he’d made other plans and didn’t plan to show at all. “Late” meant “I don’t know when,” if at all.
But Ford could be trusted. Counted on.
Strange to sit in his apartment window and watch instead of on his terrace at the museum. At least he hadn’t had to ask for a day off.
Gavin found he was smiling to himself. So much different these days. Good different.
He could sense Oscar moving around behind him, from beneath one piece of furniture to another, always keeping an eye on him. Kayla would come and check in on Oscar to make sure he had food and water while he and Ford were away.
“Don’t worry, big guy,” Gavin murmured, gaze on the street. “You’re in good hands. Just don’t get scared if she’s a little wilder than you’re expecting.”
A rasping rumble of a purr answered him. Gavin’s smile broadened; he hid it against his knee.
A moment later he startled upright at the cheerful, thundering knock on the door that signaled Ford’s arrival. Strange; no car outside, and Gavin knew he couldn’t have missed Ford biking down the street. No one else sounded like Ford. Gavin knew it was him. Just knew.
“Come in,” he called over his shoulder, swinging about when the door whipped open and Ford filled the room with life and the crisp scent of the outdoors. “You look good,” he said, no blurting about it. And Ford did, his blue and green plaid flannel shirt worn comfortably into the solid square lines of his torso and his strong legs encased nicely in broken-in jeans and sturdy boots.
Ford dropped a small sheaf of brochure-type papers on the floor as if he’d forgotten he held them, and looked at Gavin as if he both wanted to eat him up and put him somewhere snug for safekeeping. “What?”
Ford’s grin came slower these days. No less bright. “You know what. You.” He stood and swung the duffel by the door up over his shoulder; Gavin had barely been able to drag the thing, and Ford handled it as if its weight were inconsequential. “This your stuff? I’ve got it.”
“I can see you do.”
Ford’s grin widened. He offered Gavin his hand and pulled him along as soon as Gavin took it. “None of that, Mister, or we’ll never leave the apartment.”
For fun, Gavin dragged his heels. “Would that be such a bad thing?” The way Ford’s shirt clung to him made Gavin want to smooth it down over his muscles and pluck the buttons open one by one.
“Normally, no. Today we’ve got places to be.” Ford tweaked Gavin’s nose. Only Ford would do that; only Ford could manage to make it turn Gavin on instead of baffling him, probably annoying him. Now.
“Are you planning on telling me where, or must I guess?” Gavin gave the apartment one last sight check, saw Oscar beneath the couch, and shut the door behind him.
“And away we go!”
“Ford! Christ, slow down!” Gavin scolded, but he couldn’t help laughing too. He didn’t have time to double-check the lock, or even check it once. Ford hauled him along like Ford was a sled dog and Gavin had just shouted “Mush!”
Gavin struggled to keep up. “Where are we even going?”
Ford winked and tapped the side of his head. He dropped Gavin’s hand and descended the stairs faster, duffel bouncing on his back, mirth in every step. So that was how he wanted to play it, hmm?
“Am I supposed to guess? Fine. Cancun.” Gavin did his best to keep up with Ford even though it meant a dangerous hop down two and three steps at a time. “Fiji. Anchorage. Camden. Norway.”
“I’m good, but I don’t think I’m good enough to get us there in a weekend and back.” Ford finally stopped on a landing to let Gavin catch up. Tease. “I, uh… Heck.”
Now he truly had Gavin’s curiosity roused. “Seriously, where are we going?”
“I had to park around back,” Ford said, swerving around the question. “I want you to see this first.”
Oh God. No telling what Ford had come up with now. Gavin shook his head and followed in Ford’s footsteps. Stranger still that he didn’t want to lag back but to surge again and… It was like unwrapping a present, this.
This time he wasn’t the one to stop and in fact had to slow down, lest he crash into the broadside of Ford’s back. “Something wrong?”
“Mmm.” Ford swung Gavin’s duffel to and fro, lost in thought. He seemed to zone out more often these days. Gavin wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. “Do you think you’ve seen the last of him?”
Gavin was lost. “Who?”
“Donny.”
Ah. “More than sure. He’s probably halfway across the country by now, chasing some crazy dream or whim.”
Ford tucked his chin down and scratched at the stubble on his cheek.
“What?”
“Nah, never mind.” Ford visibly shook it off. “The guy gets under my skin; that’s all.”
Gavin didn’t tease Ford. He understood. Better to distract him. “We’re burning daylight,” he said, giving Ford a tiny shove. No worries about knocking him down; he’d need Superman at his back to give him the oomph to topple Mount Ford.
Ford’s laughter made it worth the risk. He bounded down the stairs at a faster pace; Gavin gave up and hopped onto the banister to slide.
“Holy --” Ford caught Gavin at the bottom. The kiss he delivered was one of pride, amazement, and something more.
Gavin was tired of looking for the right words if they didn’t come. Why not just live in the moment and not waste time playing thesaurus inside his head?
Ford paused one last time at the door. Drama queen. All he needed was a drumroll. “You’re really ready to take a chance?”
Gavin didn’t have to think about it. “Yes.”
“Careful about that.” Ford swung open a rarely used side door that’d lead them into the side street. Nothing but parking and an alley back here.
And a fire red Jeep 4x4, either new or washed and waxed so well Gavin could see both their reflections in its glossy side.
Ford jumped down the last half flight, then landed with ease at the bottom, bracing himself on the Jeep. “What do you think?”
“I’m not sure what I think,” Gavin said honestly. “Except that this is so you, I’m not surprised at all.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I believe it is, yeah.”
Ford crossed his arms, teasing Gavin now. “You’re sure? We can take something smaller, something that rides more easily if you really want. But if you’ve never gone off road, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.” Ford caressed the Jeep’s hood. “It’s been… I don’t know how long. I’d love to drive this.”
What more did Gavin need? He’d never thought he’d go off road, but Ford made him want to take chances. It was almost as if he’d been given a second chance at life. Best not to waste it. Gavin hooked his duffel off Ford’s shoulder and heaved it, with effort, into the Jeep. “I’m in.”
Ford’s smile was like the sun. “Impulsive. Never thought I’d live to see the day.”
“I’ve done impulsive before. I --” Gavin stopped. I’ve even run away with a man before had come perilously close to tripping off his tongue. A guilty peek at Ford told him he might as well have finished that sentence out loud. Ford knew exactly what and who was on his mind now.
Gavin would not allow it. “This couldn’t be more different. Ford. Trust me. Okay?”
Ford’s hesitation lingered longer than Gavin liked, and the sparkle of good humor was slower to return, but he got there in the end. Maybe thirty seconds that felt like a lifetime. “Okay,” he said. “Ready to roll?”
Gavin’s glasses slipped down his nose. “You still haven’t said where we’re going.”
“I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
Gavin huffed. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I like certainties.”
Ford could easily be seen just over the top of the low-riding Jeep, tall enough to make it look small. “Please? I want to see the look on your face when we get there. I sort of dropped all the brochures back up in your apart
ment, but I have a map in the Jeep, I have you, and we have a 4x4. It’ll be fun. I promise.”
Gavin couldn’t in a hundred years have resisted that kind of artless plea from the man he cared most about in the world. Besides, there was something about the sporty look of the Jeep that made him feel almost reckless. He popped the passenger door and climbed up and in. Low for Ford, high for him. “Will we at least get there before dark?”
“Absolutely! Do you want the map? You can navigate.”
“Not quite. If we’re going to do this” -- Gavin took a breath -- “we’re going to do it right.” He reached across without looking and plucked the map off the dashboard, crumpled it into a ball and stuffed it beneath his seat.
“Hey! What’d you do that for?”
Ford’s uneasiness worried Gavin -- and pushed him that final inch he needed to make up his mind. “Follow the signs,” he said. “Whatever you see, as you see it.”
“Wait.” Ford twisted about to get a better look at Gavin. A frown line appeared between his eyebrows. “You’re sure about that?”
“Sure enough.”
“Gavin, you don’t --”
Gavin held up a hand to stop him. “Even if I don’t believe, it’s okay. I kind of want to see what happens.”
“Even if we never get where we’re going at all?”
Why did Ford sound so worried?
“I’m not saying we might not need to backtrack, but we’ll get there in the end, won’t we?” Gavin laid his hand on Ford’s thigh and squeezed. “Start driving.”
There. Ford finally loosened up and grinned. Not his usual high wattage, but warm and wide enough to put Gavin at ease. “Your wish is my command. Let’s do this.” Then his grin brightened that final degree. “Fair warning that I went over the route so much that I mostly know the way by heart already.”
“There you go, then.”
Ford stretched out his legs as best as he could, driving with the butt of one hand on the wheel and the other arm stretched out behind Gavin, where he could play with Gavin’s hair. “Hold on to your hat.”
Gavin chuckled to himself, leaned back, and rested his head on Ford’s arm. The thought came to him: I could grow old with this man.